bus marked Shoppers Special that went right up to the front door of the mall. Mom seemed awfully quiet, as if she had a lot of things on her mind. I hoped she and Pink weren't mad or something, but I really wasn't all that interested in conversation myself. I was still thinking about what I had learned that morning from Taffy Sinclair.
We found new sneakers in t he first shoestore we looked in. The salesman who waited on us was probably in high school or maybe in college. He was so cute I thought about sending him a message in body language, but I didn't know if I was good enough yet, and I wouldn't want Mom to catch on to a thing like that. So I just stood really still while he put my old shoes into a box and Mom paid for the new ones. Then we went to a fabric store, and Mom bought tons of green felt for my Jolly Green Giant costume.
"Want to get an ice-cream cone before we head for home?" she asked as we walked back out into the mall.
"Sure," I said. I had never refused an offer like that in my life.
Mom ordered a single dip of coconut almond mocha and I eenie-meenie-minie-moed between my two favorite flavors. Peanut butter and jelly won, and I ordered a triple dip. Since Mom knows I always eat it with my eyes closed so that I can't see how gross it looks, she led me to a booth.
"You know, Jana," Mom began just as I took my first lick. "I've been thinking about something ever since Taffy came over this morning."
I opened my eyes and looked at her. I couldn't imagine what was coming.
"I know the two of you have never really liked each other and that you even had a club against her once. I think it's great that you're getting along so well now, but what about your other friends? I just realized they haven't been over or even called for several days. I don't mean to be nosy, but are you girls having problems?"
I closed my eyes and licked my ice-cream cone again. Mom had noticed after all. I didn't know what to say. I just couldn't tell her what my FORMER friends had done to me. I'd be so embarrassed I'd die. I sat there with my eyes closed, licking away on my ice - cream cone for quite a while. I knew Mom wouldn't ask any more questions if I didn't want her to. She was always pretty good about things like that. I wondered if she were still looking at me, and I started to get a lump in my throat. That lump just kept getting bigger and bigger until I was afraid I wouldn't be able to swallow my ice cream anymore. Finally, I looked at her and said, "Mom, what would you do if somebody pointed out something about you, like a fault or something, only it wasn't really true?"
Mom sighed and gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh, honey. Is that what the trouble is? I'm sorry." Then she reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Well, I guess if someone did that to me, I'd get busy and prove to that person she was wrong. You know, sometimes people get carried away looking for other people's faults and that's all they see. They even see faults that aren't there and miss all the really good points a person has."
"Thanks, Mom," I said, and I gave her a genuine smile. She couldn't know how much better she had made me feel. I was doing the right thing after all. I was proving to my FORMER friends that instead of me being boy crazy, boys were crazy over me. Even my own mom said that's what I should do. I also wondered how long it had been since my FORMER friends had thought about all my good points. They probably never thought about anybody's good points since they were always looking for faults.
After we finished our ice-cream cones, we took the Shoppers Special back home. Not long after that, Pink came to pick Mom up and brought me my deep-dish pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom pizza, and I spent practically the whole evening practicing body language in front of the mirror again.
When Monday morning arrived, I was ready for my FORMER friends. I could turn my eyes into poison darts in just about half a second, but all the way to
We found new sneakers in t he first shoestore we looked in. The salesman who waited on us was probably in high school or maybe in college. He was so cute I thought about sending him a message in body language, but I didn't know if I was good enough yet, and I wouldn't want Mom to catch on to a thing like that. So I just stood really still while he put my old shoes into a box and Mom paid for the new ones. Then we went to a fabric store, and Mom bought tons of green felt for my Jolly Green Giant costume.
"Want to get an ice-cream cone before we head for home?" she asked as we walked back out into the mall.
"Sure," I said. I had never refused an offer like that in my life.
Mom ordered a single dip of coconut almond mocha and I eenie-meenie-minie-moed between my two favorite flavors. Peanut butter and jelly won, and I ordered a triple dip. Since Mom knows I always eat it with my eyes closed so that I can't see how gross it looks, she led me to a booth.
"You know, Jana," Mom began just as I took my first lick. "I've been thinking about something ever since Taffy came over this morning."
I opened my eyes and looked at her. I couldn't imagine what was coming.
"I know the two of you have never really liked each other and that you even had a club against her once. I think it's great that you're getting along so well now, but what about your other friends? I just realized they haven't been over or even called for several days. I don't mean to be nosy, but are you girls having problems?"
I closed my eyes and licked my ice-cream cone again. Mom had noticed after all. I didn't know what to say. I just couldn't tell her what my FORMER friends had done to me. I'd be so embarrassed I'd die. I sat there with my eyes closed, licking away on my ice - cream cone for quite a while. I knew Mom wouldn't ask any more questions if I didn't want her to. She was always pretty good about things like that. I wondered if she were still looking at me, and I started to get a lump in my throat. That lump just kept getting bigger and bigger until I was afraid I wouldn't be able to swallow my ice cream anymore. Finally, I looked at her and said, "Mom, what would you do if somebody pointed out something about you, like a fault or something, only it wasn't really true?"
Mom sighed and gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh, honey. Is that what the trouble is? I'm sorry." Then she reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Well, I guess if someone did that to me, I'd get busy and prove to that person she was wrong. You know, sometimes people get carried away looking for other people's faults and that's all they see. They even see faults that aren't there and miss all the really good points a person has."
"Thanks, Mom," I said, and I gave her a genuine smile. She couldn't know how much better she had made me feel. I was doing the right thing after all. I was proving to my FORMER friends that instead of me being boy crazy, boys were crazy over me. Even my own mom said that's what I should do. I also wondered how long it had been since my FORMER friends had thought about all my good points. They probably never thought about anybody's good points since they were always looking for faults.
After we finished our ice-cream cones, we took the Shoppers Special back home. Not long after that, Pink came to pick Mom up and brought me my deep-dish pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom pizza, and I spent practically the whole evening practicing body language in front of the mirror again.
When Monday morning arrived, I was ready for my FORMER friends. I could turn my eyes into poison darts in just about half a second, but all the way to
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